[AHRQ Electronic Newsletter - January 19, 2007, Issue #218]

A new, nationwide AHRQ study shows that children in the United States, especially those who are in uninsured families or who are not citizens, visit the doctor less often for well-child visits than recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). The study found that, as a whole, 56 percent of U.S. children from birth to 18 years of age had not had a well-child visit within 12 months, and 39 percent had not had one within 2 years. The study focuses especially on children's compliance with AAP guidelines, which recommend more frequent well-child visits for younger children. The average compliance ratio for all children was 61 percent. Uninsured children eligible for public coverage, such as the State Children's Health Insurance Program, had the lowest compliance rate—28 percent—followed by other uninsured children (35 percent), non-citizens (44 percent), and teenagers (49 percent). The study, Compliance with Well-Child Visit Recommendations: Evidence from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, 2000-2002 by Thomas M. Selden, Ph.D., was published in the December 1, 2006, online issue of Pediatrics. Select to read the abstract in PubMed®.